Memphis joined a national wave re-evaluating symbols of the Confederacy after its City Council voted to remove a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a slave trader and Confederate general, and to move his remains from a public park.

“The reason Chinese people can watch films like ‘Furious 7’ and ‘Avengers’ in the first place is because of this historic nine-day visit,” said Fu Hongxing, the director of “Mr. Deng Goes to Washington,” about the leader’s 1979...